Where Did Education in Texas Go Wrong? A Qualitative Analysis of How Standardized Testing Affects the Quality of Primary Education

Education reform, like No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Act, introduced an intensified accountability system in which students, teachers, and schools are evaluated by standardized test scores. For Texas, in particular, the state assessment carries a great deal of weight in measuring accountability. As a result, schools are inundated with blame, pressure, and isolated responsibility in maintaining high test scores to secure adequate funding. In order to understand the source of challenges Texas education faces today, I conducted a qualitative analysis in the form of interviews. The data collected from the interviews revealed three key areas from which Texas education struggles stem from: accountability, assessment, and collaboration. The paper concludes with a few recommendations developed from the analysis such as: base accountability on teacher and student growth; use interim state assessments to track students’ progression; increase cross-industry collaboration.